new iranian president hassan roweny made a similar demand and said that everyone should respect the wishes of the egyptian people. the military went ahead with the crackdown despite international warnings. nhk's bureau chief explains why. >> the egyptian military leaders have held power for so long and consider themselves as serving the foundation of modern egypt. they decided not to be tolerant any more with the muslim brotherhood that they see as a threat to themselves. and you have to understand the history of the relationship between the brotherhood and the military. the muslim brotherhood is an islamist religious political movement that was founded back in the 1920s. it became increasingly influential among the poor and the former president, hosni mubarak. and mubarak was in power for almost 30 years. during his era, the west, especially the u.s., poured financial aid to the military which was the core of mubarak's power. thanks to the aid, the egyptian economy as a whole developed, but the gap between the rich and the poor widened. the brotherhood's support base was the poor, and the